Sadie Sink is in talks to star in and produce The Guest, a film adaptation of Emma Cline’s bestselling novel. A24 and Square Peg are negotiating to bring the book to the screen, with Lorene Scafaria in talks to write and direct. Deadline first reported the news, followed by The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.
According to Deadline, A24 and Square Peg are negotiating for the rights to the book, with Sink set to produce alongside Square Peg. Insiders told the publication that approximately 12 other buyers participated in the auction, but the package bringing together Sink and Scafaria with A24 and Square Peg emerged as the preferred option. The studio is now in exclusive negotiations for the rights, meaning the deal has not yet been finalized.
Deadline also reported that studios and stars have been pursuing the rights since the novel’s release, with Sink among its biggest fans. When news emerged over the summer that the rights were coming to market, sources said she moved quickly to attach herself to the project. Scafaria joined the package shortly afterward.
The novel follows a calculating grifter navigating the treacherous world of summer in the Hamptons. According to the official synopsis, summer is drawing to a close on Long Island’s East End, and Alex is no longer welcome. After a misstep at a dinner party, the older man she has been staying with sends her away with a ride to the train station and a ticket back to the city. With few resources and a waterlogged phone, but a talent for reading other people’s desires, Alex decides to remain on Long Island. She drifts through the hedged lanes, gated driveways and sun-blasted dunes of an exclusive world that initially shuts her out. Driven by desperation and a flexible sense of morality, she spends the week leading up to Labor Day moving from place to place, leaving destruction in her wake.
In a 2023 interview with Vanity Fair, Cline discussed the book’s origins. She said she began writing it in 2016 and was drawn to books such as The Talented Mr. Ripley, which follow characters operating outside conventional moral boundaries. “There’s something fun about following that kind of chaos,” she said. Cline added that the setting developed from considering what kind of world would serve as an effective foil for such a character.
The Guest was longlisted for the PEN/Faulkner Award and selected as a Belletrist Book Club pick. It was also named one of the best books of the year by more than a dozen publications, including The New Yorker, Time, NPR and The Washington Post. Cline’s more recent book, Switzy, was longlisted for this year’s Booker Prize. Her debut novel, The Girls, was published in 2016 after securing a three-book deal reportedly worth $2 million at the time. The novel was loosely inspired by the 1969 Manson family murders.
Following the conclusion of Stranger Things this past winter, Sink has moved into the next stage of her career. She made her official Marvel Cinematic Universe debut as Jean Grey opposite Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Variety reported that the film became the highest-grossing film in domestic box-office history after opening in July. Sink has also delivered notable performances in the Oscar-winning film The Whale, the recent West End production of Romeo and Juliet, and Broadway’s John Proctor Is the Villain, which earned her a Tony Award nomination.
Sink is set to reprise her role as Jean Grey in Marvel’s X-Men reboot, directed by Jake Schreier. The film is scheduled for release on May 5, 2028, with production expected to begin early next year.
Scafaria is best known for directing Hustlers, starring Jennifer Lopez. Her other writing and directing credits include Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and The Meddler. On television, she has directed episodes of New Girl and Succession, earning a Directors Guild of America Award nomination and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the latter. She currently serves as an executive producer and director on HBO’s I Love LA.
No release date, filming schedule or additional cast members have been announced for The Guest. With the rights agreement and creative attachments still being finalized, further details about the film will depend on the outcome of the ongoing negotiations.